


not just another day

by green_piggy



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Baking, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Happy Ending, Hugs, Mild Hurt/Comfort, References to Depression, along with sigrun/tanith, but they all interact and they're all FAM, i'm not writing out every variation of the five of them, love the begnion family so dang much, set a few months before radiant dawn, that's sephiran for you babe!, there is sephiran/zelgius btw just not enough to tag it, written for the kith & kin family zine!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_piggy/pseuds/green_piggy
Summary: Sanaki makes Sephiran celebrate his own day of birth, and gets the other members of their strange little family to help out.
Relationships: Sanaki Kirsch Altina & Sephiran
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	not just another day

**Author's Note:**

> one of two fics i wrote for the [kith & kin family zine!](https://twitter.com/HyphenZines/status/1261274352592486405) you should totally check it out, it's pretty awesome :3
> 
> sanaki makes me cry daily but what else is new. when sephiran called her "my sun and my moon" i FELT that. i love the begnion family so much!! they're all so good!!! some of them definitely less good than the others but that's okay!!! sometimes you throw the entire continent into war and chaos to cope and that! is! valid!
> 
> hope you enjoy~

“Is something the matter, Empress?” Sephiran asked.

They were going through their usual morning routine of preparing Sanaki for her duties, but she’d been unusually subdued, not even swinging her legs from her stool as he brushed her hair. He swore it had only touched her shoulders; yet, in a blink of an eye, it now reached the small of her back.

Sanaki didn’t answer, but when he peeked over her shoulder, she was chewing her cheek in thought. Letting out a fond sigh, he laid the hairbrush on the bedside table.

“...Remind me,” Sanaki eventually said, voice quiet, “of today’s date.”

Sephiran did. Sanaki’s frown deepened.

“Is it significant?” Sephiran moved so that he was standing in front of her and crouched down. Funnily enough, he was the only person who she didn’t mind bending down to her height. With anyone else, she would pout and snap at them for making her look so  _ childish,  _ when she was the empress and the  _ apostle. _

_ Goddess _ , he still remembered when he could hold her in his arms, cradling her in front of all of the fools of Begnion. How easily they forgot the corpses they had scattered beneath them like flies, blind to the sins  _ they  _ had committed. Beorc grew too quickly for their own good.

Sanaki was a kind soul, yes, but as wonderful as she was—

“Of  _ course  _ it’s significant!” Sanaki crossed her arms and glared, tiny puffy eyebrows narrowed. “It’s your day of birth!”

“Oh…” He forced himself to give a small laugh. “Ah, of course. How silly of me to forget.”

Sanaki let out another huff. “We are going to make you a  _ cake  _ as punishment for your negligence.”

“That… doesn’t sound like punishment.”

“Well, it is!” Sanaki rocked on the chair and flung herself off it, her sandals slapping against the tiles. “For I think I shall ask Deputy Commander Tanith to assist—”

“You don’t have to,” Sephiran insisted.  _ “Truly,  _ dear Sanaki. The mere, ah,  _ punishment  _ of baking more than suffices.”

Sanaki made a proud little noise, the hints of a smile threatening to shatter her serious composure. “I’m glad you realise that. To the kitchen with immediate haste, then.”

Normally, Sephiran would have gently reminded Sanaki that she  _ did  _ have a meeting with a senate that had been growing increasingly irritated with her in recent months. Of course, they bit their tongues and gave sugary smiles so fake that Sephiran wished to throttle their throats, but neither he nor Sanaki were fools. They knew that it was simply a matter of time before the senate revolted against them.

However…

A part of him, of his shrivelled up heart that he thought had long since died, was touched beyond words at Sanaki remembering a date he never recalled. Every year, he forgot. Every year, she remembered.

He didn’t deserve her.

All of that was failing to mention the troubles that were evidently plaguing her. When Sanaki wasn’t throwing herself into her public duties, she was practising her magic despite having excellent knowledge of all forms of anima magic already. She was even a master at light; on any given day, raging blazes, howling winds, crackling thunder, or blinding light would pulse from her room. She pushed herself far harder than she had to, and Sephiran knew that no small part of that was due to her still being unable to hear the goddess’s voice.

He hated - he  _ hated -  _ that he knew the true reason for why Sanaki couldn’t hear her voice, and yet, he said nothing. No brand rested on Sanaki’s hand; the owner of that mark had perished over twenty years ago.

Sanaki was _exhausted._ How she hadn’t collapsed yet, Sephiran did not know. No adult could work themselves as much as she did, never mind a developing child. No child should bear the heavy bags she had etched under her eyes. No child should stay up so late and sleep so little; more and more she had been nodding off during their morning routine. No child should be thrust into the position she had been forced into. But the people of Begnion had begged for a ruler of Altina’s blood, ignoring that the blood caking their hands was the one and the same.

He startled when a tiny hand slid into his. Sanaki said nothing, but she was frowning.

“It’s nothing, my dear.” He squeezed her hand and was surprised at how easily his smile came. She needed a day off. They both did. “To the kitchen.”

Sigrun and Tanith were in the kitchen already, bickering over something he couldn’t make out. He was surprised to see them, but even more surprised at the sight of Zelgius. As his partner gave him a slight smile, Sephiran couldn’t help but give one in exchange.

“...we can’t use  _ salt  _ in a cake—”

“What kind of birthday cakes have you been  _ making  _ for the prime minister?” Tanith cried.

“Ones that don’t have salt in them, apparently,” Sephiran interrupted. They both startled at his voice and whirled around. He tried to stifle a chuckle at the flour and all sorts of other substances caking their arms. Was that  _ egg  _ yolk? “Good morning.”

“G-good morning, Lord Sephiran.” Sigrun’s gaze slid over to Sanaki. “You, ah, weren’t supposed to be in here this early.”

“Oh, I wasn’t?” Sephiran tilted his head. “But Lady Sanaki invited me here.”

“It’s his day of birth!” Sanaki chirped. “He has the right to see his own cake.”

Sephiran peered down at her, eyebrows raised. “...You won’t allow me to assist in baking it?”

Tugging herself away from his grasp (Sephiran’s hand ached), Sanaki shook her head. “Absolutely not. You and Tanith will watch us.”

Zelgius raised his thick eyebrows. “...Are you asking for my aid, Empress?”

“Absolutely!”

“You’re asking  _ me  _ to  _ stand back?”  _ Tanith asked, voice loud. “Why, I—”

“I think it is for  _ everyone’s  _ safety that you stay away,” Sigrun interrupted with a small smile. “No harm intended, Tanith.”

Tanith let out a huff, but she didn’t protest any further. Indeed, when Sigrun leaned forward with a wide grin and gave her hand a chaste kiss, Tanith’s entire face went a furious red. Stuttering out words that died out before they could emerge, she pulled back next to Sephiran.

“Empress…” Zelgius trailed off. “I’m afraid I have little experience in baking. Or with much outside of combat.”

But Sanaki just waved her hand, eyes glued to the wooden bowl on the counter, not looking at him. “Nonsense! You’ll never improve unless you try.” She craned her head over her shoulder with a wry smile. “But  _ do  _ take off your armour, Zelgius. There’s no need for it today.”

Zelgius’s gaze slid over minutely towards Sephiran; chest warming, Sephiran nodded. Sephiran kept one eye on his partner as he peeled off piece after piece of his armour, until he stood only in his black undergarments. His other eye focused on Sanaki and Sigrun chattering as they cleaned up the current mess to start afresh. Tanith gladly took the dirty dishes and scrubbed them all so intensely that Sephiran expected the ceramic to start chipping off.

It was a rather domestic scene. For a second, when he closed his eyes and opened them again, it wasn’t Sigrun and Sanaki squabbling at the sink, but Altina and their dear child, the marked child that had striped him of his powers and began all of - all of  _ this.  _ These lies that they should never have hidden, these—

Rough fingers lanced through his own and tugged him back to the present. Sephiran let out a sharp exhale, one that nobody else seemed to hear, thankfully.

“Apologies,” he murmured. Zelgius was so close to him that he could feel the other man’s warmth. He leaned in towards it. “...A moment. That’s all.”

Zelgius said nothing, ever frowning, but there was a quiet type of love in his emerald eyes. They stood there in silence until Sanaki called Zelgius forward.

He proved to be a fast learner, as he was with all things. Together, the three of them poured over instructions and carefully performed each step, the noises of cutlery tinking and easy banter filling the air. Sephiran went over to help Tanith before she demolished all of their dishes. The usual cleaning staff must have been ordered to take the day off by Sanaki. That didn’t surprise him at all.

With Sanaki’s fire magic, the cake didn’t take long to bake. It was far from perfect looking, with more bumps and slumps than smooth edges, but it had a certain undeniable charm.

“Look away while we’re icing!” Sanaki flapped her arms at him, long sleeves billowing and almost catching the flour scattered everywhere. Her cheeks were already splattered with countless baking substances, as were Sigrun’s and even Zelgius’. “Tanith, you may help.”

“Truly, I’m honoured,” Tanith droned. Most people would have taken her words to be sarcastic, but Sephiran knew that she was being utterly sincere.

Sephiran closed his eyes and let their talking wash over him. His body was aglow with a kind of peace he hadn’t felt for many years.

“We’re done!” Sanaki announced. “Open your eyes.”

Sephiran did just that—

And felt tears spring to his eyes.

Adjourned on the cake were a crude attempt at tiny herons, scattered amongst a sea of leaves and greenery. Sigrun and Sanaki were both aglow with pride, while Tanith looked as if she wanted to bury herself. Even Zelgius had a small smile.

“This is…”

“Wonderful, isn’t it?” Sigrun offered.

All he could do was nod.

“The filling is strawberry, of course.” Sanaki said. “I know that’s your favourite flavour.”

He hadn’t even realised he  _ had  _ a favourite flavour.

“Dear Sanaki…”

By the goddess, he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve this cake. He didn’t deserve Sanaki. He didn’t deserve  _ any  _ of them.

Someday, Tellius would end by his hand. By his hand, Ashera would rise and bring order to the world. He had already set events in motion; even if he held regrets, it was far too late to linger on them, so he refused to do so. He refused to consider that he would bring about the end of Sanaki’s smile and tinkling laughter, the end of  _ his  _ sun,  _ his  _ moon. The end of Zelgius’s constant companionship, always remaining by his side, alone together. The end of Sigrun’s motherly fussing, of Tanith’s frigid kindness, of… all of this. No more quaint pockets of joy like these.

Even if all of that would be his fault, even if he was the worst person on this continent… surely,  _ surely,  _ he could indulge in this? He could have this much, surely?

Sanaki took his hand. “Come, now!” she chidded. “Don’t you want to try it?”

“I do,” he said quietly. Those damned tears remained. He blinked them away and gave his everything a smile. “Lady Sanaki, I would do anything for you.”

Sanaki blinked, surprised, but then smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. She didn’t even reach his chest, nor did her arms remotely touch one another, but Sephiran bent down and held her tight against his chest.

“I love you, Sanaki.”

“I love you too, Sephiran.”

“I see a group hug is in order,” Sigrun teased. Her strong arms enveloped Sephiran’s right and Sanaki’s body; then, with a grumble, he felt Tanith on his left. A few seconds passed, then the encompassing, constant warmth of Zelgius was at his back, his arms surrounding all of them.

It must have been a ridicule of a scene. Five of Begnion’s most important people, huddled together in a giant hug as though they were family.

...But wasn’t that exactly what they were?

Sephiran sniffled.

“Sephiran?” Sanaki murmured. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he whispered, gaze blurry, unable to stop smiling from the warmth in his heart, “nothing at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> [dabs] [here's my twitter!](https://twitter.com/greenpiggles) check it out if you wanna!
> 
> thanks so much for reading!! if you enjoyed it, consider leaving a kudos or comment, and have a great day!! <3


End file.
